I met Bill Skinner and his latest jewellery collection in 2013 at a jewellery fair in London where designers showcase their collections. I was immediately attracted to his fun and detailed designs. This was a time of a cute snail and striking lion and tiger collections. It immediately struck me as something our clients would like, the pieces were well made, great quality, good attention to detail and the prices was affordable. I knew they would work well in our shop and be much admired, I also rather fancied them for myself!

As predicted they were popular and we started to stock more and more of their designs. And we continued to be thrilled by new designs coming through... strawberries...hummingbirds... ladybirds... you can always find something cute or pretty or chic in their pieces. 

Not only do I now have a big personal collection of their pieces, and some of our staff, but many clients are big fans too, keen to see what the next collection brings. Simple enough to wear every day or to dress up a wedding outfit, Bill Skinner jewellery is versatile and easy to wear regularly. 

We're such fans that when a collection has sold out for the season we have bought pieces back, exclusive to us, such as the pearl cherub earrings, lion ring and earrings, strawberry earrings, vintage rose stud earrings, ladybird bracelet,  toadstool stud earrings and ring, and Scenes of nature mint green ring. Check out the Bill Skinner collection on the website and spot many pieces exclusive to us!

They also work very well as gifts, and we often recommend them to people looking to buy a present. The pieces are 18k gold plated and set with swarovski crystals or beautiful enamels, all placed in a pretty gift box, they go down a treat!

Which are your favourite Bill Skinner designs?

It is years since I was first drawn to the colourful, quirky jewellery designs of the late Kenneth Jay Lane. For me his name brings to mind images of turquoise and corals, elephants and giraffes, or pieces inspired by Indian Royal gems in ruby and emerald glass. A piece of KJL in your collection is a piece to treasure that brings joy, that brings attention whenever worn. Admiration from friends or secretly worn by your teenage children, or possibly snaffled away into their jewellery box, never to be seen again! I first found vintage pieces at Antique fairs but was soon to be overjoyed to find KJL was still very much in production and based in New York and I couldn't get there quick enough. A trip to the KJL mecca in New York was to visit my heaven, and perhaps a feeling that many feel when the walk into The Hirst Collection. How to choose? Luckily I wasn't too limited, buying for our store and I was allowed to peruse through drawers of designs originally created in the sixties. Perhaps finding a metal carcass and choosing which colour stones to place in and bring it to life! Heaven! This was in the early 2000s and Ken Lane himself was there too, amused at my walking out with 2 bagfuls of goodies. I'm so glad I got to meet the man himself before his passing and that these fabulous pieces are still made and bring a smile to any face that sees them. They certainly attract attention in the shop, the shelf where they live got the nickname 'the animal bracelet shelf' and most visitors know it well. and if a piece has been sold and is missing, I'm sure to be asked where it is. 

And so it was that just a couple of weeks before lockdown in March I ordered a lot of KJL jewellery. It was ready to be dispatched when my shop was closed and I didn't know what the future held for our shop. Investing in jewellery at that moment didn't seem to be the greatest idea. I wavered. I asked to reminded of my order with photographs. and then I looked at those photographs, how could I turn away such fabulousness? So I didn't turn them away, they came to me in the midst of gloom and yes they did what it said on the tin. They brought joy. I smiled at my pretties, possibly stroked them, and spent the following year in my often locked shop trying them out for size. Layering them with other pretties and seeing how they can be worn, what they go with. I got to know them all rather better than ever before and we had fun in out lockdown dress up way, without actually going on a single night out. You can often see a piece of KJL in many of my photos on instagram @thehirstcollection and almost sadly a few of them got sold too, spreading that joy far and wide, even just by looking at the photos and videos. If you have a piece of KJl that you love, do send me a photo of you and it having a moment!